Discovery BoxJeremiah 5:12-14 
Context5:12 “These people have denied what the Lord says. 1
They have said, ‘That is not so! 2
No harm will come to us.
We will not experience war and famine. 3
5:13 The prophets will prove to be full of wind. 4
The Lord has not spoken through them. 5
So, let what they say happen to them.’”
5:14 Because of that, 6 the Lord, the God who rules over all, 7 said to me, 8
“Because these people have spoken 9 like this, 10
I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire.
And I will make this people like wood
which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up.” 11
1 tn Heb “have denied the
2 tn Or “he will do nothing”; Heb “Not he [or it]!”
3 tn Heb “we will not see the sword and famine.”
4 tn Heb “will be wind.”
sn There is a wordplay on the Hebrew word translated “wind” (רוּחַ, ruakh) which also means “spirit.” The prophets spoke by inspiration of the Spirit of the
5 tc Heb “the word is not in them.” The MT has a highly unusual form here, the Piel perfect with the definite article (הַדִּבֵּר, haddibber). It is undoubtedly best to read with the LXX (Greek version) and one Hebrew
6 tn Heb “Therefore.”
7 tn Heb “The
sn Here the emphasis appears to be on the fact that the
8 tn The words, “to me” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for clarification.
9 tn Heb “you have spoken.” The text here דַּבֶּרְכֶם (dabberkhem, “you have spoken”) is either a case of a scribal error for דַּבֶּרָם (dabberam, “they have spoken”) or an example of the rapid shift in addressee which is common in Jeremiah.
10 tn Heb “this word.”
11 tn Heb “like wood and it [i.e., the fire I put in your mouth] will consume them.”
